Legal casino gambling age in French Polynesia
French Polynesia, a French overseas collectivity in the South Pacific, has no licensed casino and no locally licensed online casino. Lawful gambling consists essentially of lottery draw and scratch games, run under an exclusive arrangement between the territory and the French national lottery operator, which acts locally through a subsidiary. Responsibility for gambling is shared. Under the 2004 organic law on the territory’s autonomy, the Assembly of French Polynesia sets the rules for casinos, gaming clubs, lotteries and betting, while the French State keeps control rules, criminal law and public order. A May 2025 opinion of the French Conseil d’État (the highest administrative court, which also advises governments) set out in detail where the line between the two lies. This guide explains the framework, the long-running casino debate, the position of players, taxation and the available support services.
Key points
- Organic Law No. 2004-192 of 27 February 2004 gives the Assembly of French Polynesia power to set rules for casinos, gaming clubs, lotteries, raffles and bets, “within the control rules and penalties defined by the State”. The Council of Ministers of French Polynesia authorises the opening of casinos and gaming clubs.
- No casino operates in French Polynesia. Proposals made between 2012 and 2016, including a tourists-only casino for the planned Tahiti Mahana Beach resort, were not carried through, and most churches opposed casinos.
- Lottery games are run under a convention between French Polynesia and the French national lottery operator, in a new convention in force from 1 January 2017. The territory receives a levy of at least 15% of stakes.
- In an opinion of 20 May 2025, the Conseil d’État held that the French 2010 regime for online poker and other online “club” games has not been extended to French Polynesia and that national law does not, on its own, permit such games to be offered there.
- There is no general personal income tax in French Polynesia. Free, anonymous treatment for gambling problems is available from the public addiction service in Pirae, Tahiti.
Last reviewed: 13 October 2026.
Online casinos for French Polynesia
We may earn commission from links. Commission and paid placements do not affect casino ordering. Affiliate disclosure · How these listings work.
Vegas Casino Online
Sign Up400% up to
$500
Sloto'Cash Casino
Sign Up100% up to
$500
Tsars Casino
Sign Up100% up to
€300
+ 100 Spins
22Bet Casino
Sign Up100% up to
$/€300
+ 30 Spins
Lucky Tiger Casino
Sign Up250% up to
$1,000
Shazam Casino
Sign Up250% up to
$2,500
Vegas Casino Online
Sign Up400% up to
$500
Sloto'Cash Casino
Sign Up100% up to
$500
Tsars Casino
Sign Up100% up to
€300
+ 100 Spins
22Bet Casino
Sign Up100% up to
$/€300
+ 30 Spins
Lucky Tiger Casino
Sign Up250% up to
$1,000
Shazam Casino
Sign Up250% up to
$2,500
Historical development
The modern lottery market dates from 1991. According to a detailed 2013 report in Tahiti Infos, the French national lottery operator has organised and run gambling in French Polynesia since that year through a local subsidiary. The legal basis was article 43 of the French Finance Law for 1990 (Law No. 89-935 of 29 December 1989), which authorised the national lottery to operate games of chance in the territory. A rapporteurs’ report to the Assembly of French Polynesia (2016) traces the successive agreements: a first convention in 1991 covering Loto and instant games, a new convention in 1997, extensions in 2001 and 2005, convention No. 9-12 signed on 13 January 2009, renewal in 2013 and expiry on 31 December 2016.
Casinos have been debated repeatedly but never approved under the current statute. In August 2012, during the debate over the closure of a large hotel near Papeete, a local businessman proposed turning it into a casino. Then-president Oscar Temaru rejected the idea, and the churches opposed casinos, as reported by RNZ Pacific in August 2012. Tahiti Infos notes that Temaru had earlier, in a letter of 9 March 2012, suggested that the territory consider managing the gambling market itself to stop capital leaving the country.
On 28 May 2013 the territory’s Economic, Social and Cultural Council (CESC), an advisory body, adopted report No. 149/CESC, which was broadly favourable to casinos. It recommended preparing a regulatory and tax framework and addiction safeguards before any first licence. The Catholic Church in Papeete responded with a statement dated 8 July 2013, arguing that a so-called “destination casino” would in practice be used mainly by local residents, and questioning whether the territory would benefit given the social and family problems it would cause.
The idea returned with the Tahiti Mahana Beach resort project in Punaauia. On 6 August 2014, President Gaston Flosse announced after the Council of Ministers that the planned casino would be reserved for tourists and closed to residents of French Polynesia, and even to ministers (Tahiti Infos, 6 August 2014). In September 2014 he said that a loi du pays (a territorial statute adopted by the Assembly) on casinos was “indispensable” (Tahiti Infos, 8 September 2014). We found no record that such a statute was adopted. A May 2016 report by TNTV still described no casino as operating, recalled that a casino can only be opened by an order of the Council of Ministers, and noted that legal gaming establishments had existed in Tahiti in the past. We could not verify from primary sources when those earlier establishments operated or closed.
Legal framework
The organic law and the division of competences
French Polynesia is governed by Organic Law No. 2004-192 of 27 February 2004 on the autonomy statute of French Polynesia. An organic law is a French statute of constitutional rank that fixes how public institutions work. Its main gambling provisions are:
- Article 24: the Assembly of French Polynesia “determines the rules applicable to casinos and gaming clubs, to lotteries, raffles and bets, within the control rules and penalties defined by the State”.
- Article 91, 28°: the Council of Ministers of French Polynesia “authorises the opening of gaming clubs and casinos under the conditions set in article 24”.
- Article 14: the State keeps exclusive competence over matters including security and public order.
- Article 31, 2°: the territory’s institutions may take part, under State control, in the State’s competences on the investigation of offences and on “criminal law provisions on games of chance”.
- Article 7: national laws apply in French Polynesia only where they expressly say so.
Article 7 matters a great deal for gambling. A French statute does not apply in French Polynesia unless it, or a later text, expressly extends it there. Much of the national gambling code therefore applies only in part, or not at all.
The Conseil d’État opinion of 20 May 2025
On 24 March 2025 the President of French Polynesia asked the Administrative Court of French Polynesia to refer twelve questions on gambling competences to the Conseil d’État, using the procedure in article 175 of the organic law. The Conseil d’État delivered its opinion (No. 409474, Interior Section) on 20 May 2025. Its main conclusions are:
- General prohibition. The State sets the general principle that games of money and chance are prohibited, and the exceptions to it.
- Casinos. The State sets the conditions under which a casino opening may be authorised and the public-order content of the authorisation, such as stake conditions and access restrictions. French Polynesia sets the operating rules, such as which games may be offered, session breaks and cash advances.
- Lotteries. Only the State may designate the operator of lottery games run under exclusive rights. Article 43 of the 1990 Finance Law, which contains special rules for French Polynesia, has not been implicitly repealed by article L. 322-8 of the national Internal Security Code (Code de la sécurité intérieure).
- Horse racing. The State decides whether races may give rise to betting and on the legal framework, including any exclusive-rights operator. French Polynesia authorises race organisers within State conditions and sets the race calendar. The implementing decree envisaged by the 1891 law on horse racing has not been adopted for the territory.
- Sports betting in retail outlets. The State sets any exclusive-rights regime, designates the operator and decides which sports and types of result may be offered.
- Promotional lotteries. French Polynesia may set the conditions for promotional lotteries, whether or not they involve a financial outlay.
The opinion is advisory, but it is the most authoritative recent statement of the law. The full text lists the national provisions involved, including articles L. 320-6, L. 344-1 and L. 344-3 of the Internal Security Code. It records that the national legislator extended points 1° and 2° of article L. 320-6, which list exceptions to the prohibition, to French Polynesia.
In 2019 the PACTE law reorganised gambling regulation in France and created the framework for the privatisation of the national lottery operator. A government amendment adopted in March 2019 (Amendment No. 982) authorised the government to extend the new rules by ordinance to French Polynesia, with the necessary adaptations, in areas where the State is competent.
Regulator and licensing model
French Polynesia has no dedicated gambling regulator or licensing authority. The model combines a near-monopoly with territorial control:
- Lotteries. Draw and scratch games are offered by the national lottery operator under an exclusive arrangement. Locally, a subsidiary handles sales, validation of tickets, payment of prizes and administration. Under the convention presented to the Assembly in November 2016, a new lottery game needs prior notice to the territory’s Minister for the Economy, who has two months to object, and must be published in the Journal officiel de la Polynésie française (the territory’s official gazette). The convention runs for five years from 1 January 2017 and renews automatically twice for the same period unless terminated with twelve months’ notice. It requires the operator to inform the territory at least six months before any other form of gambling is authorised, and allows it to bid for those rights (Assembly of French Polynesia, 2016).
- Casinos and gaming clubs. The Council of Ministers may authorise them under article 91 of the organic law, within State conditions. As far as we could establish, none has been authorised.
- Betting. In 2016 sports forecasting games were not operated in the territory, although the convention could be extended to them. We could not verify whether retail sports or horse-race betting has since been introduced. The questions put to the Conseil d’État in 2025 on who designates betting operators suggest that the matter was under consideration.
In metropolitan France, the Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ) licenses online betting and poker operators and supervises the exclusive-rights operators. The Conseil d’État noted that the 2010 online gambling law gives the ANJ the approval of online operators, but that its provisions on online “club” games (jeux de cercle, chiefly poker) have not been expressly extended to French Polynesia. If a competitive licensing regime were extended, the opinion says, individual approvals would fall to French Polynesia within conditions set by the State. Readers interested in the national system can consult our France guide.
Online gambling: what is permitted and how it is enforced
No online casino is licensed in or for French Polynesia, and no legal route to obtain such a licence currently exists. The position can be summarised as follows:
- Online lotteries. The 2016 convention covers lottery games sold both online and in retail outlets, so lottery products of the exclusive operator fall within the territorial framework (Assembly of French Polynesia, 2016).
- Online poker and other club games. The Conseil d’État found that article L. 320-6 of the Internal Security Code “does not on its own have the effect of permitting the offer of such games” in French Polynesia, and that only legislation could settle who would designate operators (Conseil d’État, 2025, points 10 and 11).
- Online casino games. These are not a licensed category in metropolitan France either. An AFP report republished by Tahiti Infos in October 2024 described France as one of only two EU countries, with Cyprus, that prohibit online casino games, and covered a government amendment to the 2025 budget bill that proposed legalising them. That report concerned the national market and did not mention French Polynesia.
We found no published list of blocked gambling websites for French Polynesia, no record of internet service provider or payment blocking ordered specifically for the territory, and no territorial rules on online gambling advertising. Whether the blocking powers that apply in metropolitan France can be used in French Polynesia could not be verified from the sources reviewed. Offshore websites are nevertheless accessible in practice. In 2016 a rapporteur of the CESC report warned that anyone could gamble online, noting that 82% of households were connected to the internet through mobile phones (TNTV, 2016).
Position of players
The sources reviewed describe the general prohibition on games of money and chance as a State matter and direct their enforcement at those who organise games. We found no territorial or national provision, and no reported case, under which a resident of French Polynesia was prosecuted or fined simply for playing on a foreign online casino. That should not be read as approval. No online casino is authorised for the territory, so a player who uses an offshore site has no local regulator to complain to and no local guarantee that winnings will be paid, that games are fair or that age checks and self-exclusion tools apply.
Illegal land-based gambling is a long-standing issue. Tahiti Infos (2013) described illegal gaming houses and card and dice games, including the local game known as kikiriri, as widespread, and TNTV (2016) made the same observation. Under the 2016 convention, minors may not take part in the lottery games, even if emancipated (Assembly of French Polynesia, 2016).
Taxation
Operators
Lottery revenue for French Polynesia is set by the convention approved by loi du pays, because its tax provisions required a territorial statute. The 2016 rapporteurs’ report to the Assembly of French Polynesia sets out the main elements:
| Element | Rule under the convention from 2017 |
|---|---|
| Levy for French Polynesia | At least 15% of the sums staked by players, assessed over the calendar year |
| Operator’s share for organisation and operation | From 26.10% of stakes (player return below 65%) down to 15.94% (player return of 75% or more) |
| Value added tax | Charged under the Polynesian tax code; the annex shows 13% on the organisation share |
| Rounding differences on common draws | Paid to the budget of French Polynesia |
| State levy | A separate levy for the national budget under article 43 of the 1990 Finance Law |
The same report states that the territorial levy yielded 882 million CFP francs (XPF) in 2012 and 665 million XPF in 2015, with a 2016 forecast of about 680 million XPF. The new rates were expected to raise about 750 million XPF, excluding VAT, from 2017. For context, Tahiti Infos (2013) reported that residents staked roughly 4 to 5 billion XPF a year on draw and scratch games, and TNTV (2016) cited more than 5 billion XPF a year. Between 1991 and 2008, according to Tahiti Infos, the local subsidiary’s cumulative turnover reached 68.4 billion XPF, of which 15.6 billion XPF went to the territorial budget through the levy on stakes. Gross gaming revenue (GGR), meaning stakes minus winnings, is not published for the territory in the sources we found.
Players
The territory’s tax administration (DICP) states that “there is no general tax on total income” in French Polynesia (DICP). Residents pay the territorial solidarity contribution (CST) on salaries, pensions and similar earnings and on self-employed income. We found no provision taxing lottery or other gambling winnings in the hands of players.
Consumer protection and responsible gambling
The 2016 convention obliges the lottery operator to apply a responsible-gambling policy in French Polynesia at the same level as in metropolitan France, to prevent gambling by minors, to limit excessive play and to submit a detailed annual report to the territory’s minister. Changes in national rules on these matters apply in the territory without amending the convention (Assembly of French Polynesia, 2016). We found no territorial self-exclusion register for French Polynesia. Since there is no casino and no local online licensing, the exclusion tools used in metropolitan casinos and online gambling are not available through local operators.
Treatment is provided by the public addiction service, formerly the Centre for Prevention and Treatment of Addictions (CPSA) of the Health Directorate. According to the territorial health service, it became the Addiction Prevention and Treatment Service (PSA) of the French Polynesia Hospital Centre (CHPF) on 1 July 2026. It treats behavioural addictions, including gambling, as well as substance use. Outpatient consultations are free and anonymous, and families can seek help even when the person concerned does not attend. The service is based at the CHPF mental health unit in Pirae and can be reached on 40 48 60 40.
The scale of problem gambling in the territory has not been measured by an official survey that we could find. TNTV (2016) reported the CESC’s estimate that more than 1,000 people, about 0.4% of the population, were dependent on gambling. General guidance is available in our responsible gambling guide.
Recent and upcoming developments
- Conseil d’État opinion (May 2025). The opinion of 20 May 2025 clarified the respective roles of the State and the territory for casinos, lotteries, horse racing, retail sports betting, online club games and promotional lotteries. It provides the legal map for any future territorial reform.
- Casinos. We found no casino bill before the Assembly of French Polynesia and no casino authorisation by the Council of Ministers between 2023 and October 2026. The State’s power to set casino authorisation conditions, confirmed in 2025, means that any project would also depend on national rules.
- Lottery convention. The convention that took effect on 1 January 2017 provides for five-year terms renewed automatically twice, which would take it to the end of 2031 unless it is terminated or renegotiated. We could not confirm its current status from the territory’s official gazette.
- National online casino debate. In October 2024 the French government proposed legalising online casino games through the 2025 budget bill (AFP via Tahiti Infos). Under the Conseil d’État’s reasoning, any such national regime would have no effect in French Polynesia unless it were expressly extended there.
Casino listings for players in French Polynesia
The listings below are generated automatically from our casino database. They do not show that any operator is licensed or authorised in French Polynesia. No casino and no online casino is authorised in the territory, and there is no local register of licensed online operators. The listings must not be read as an indication that offering or playing online casino games in French Polynesia is lawful. See the Conseil d’État’s 2025 opinion for the legal position.
Vegas Casino Online
No Deposit Bonus
$ 20
Sloto'Cash Casino
100% up to
∞
Tsars Casino
100% up to
€300
+ 100 Spins
Casino Extreme
200 Spins
22Bet Casino
100% up to
$/€300
+ 30 Spins
1Red Casino
20% up to
∞
Casino Brango
500% up to
$/€100
+ 500 Spins
Shazam Casino
Exclusive No Deposit Bonus
$ 50
Lucky Tiger Casino
No Deposit Bonus
$ 55
Omni Slots
50% up to
€200
+ 20 Spins
Red Stag Casino
25% up to
∞
Rich Palms Casino
250% up to
∞
Highway Casino
$ 30
Casino Classic
1 Spins
LOKI Casino
50% up to
€500
+ 60 Spins
Yabby Casino
202% up to
∞
Uptown Aces
250% up to
∞
DuckyLuck Casino
500% up to
$/€2,500
+ 150 Spins
Fair Go Casino
200% up to
∞
VAVADA Casino
100 Spins
Betsafe Casino
PlayCroco Casino
300% up to
∞
+ 60 Spins
CasinoCasino
100% up to
€100
Las Vegas USA Casino
No Deposit Bonus
$ 20
Zodiac Casino
Fruits4Real
125% up to
€125
+ 60 Spins
Sun Palace Casino
No Deposit Bonus
$ 20
Slots Plus
No Deposit Bonus
$ 20
Casilando
10 Spins
Gold Prize Casino
10% up to
$100
El Royale Casino
230% up to
∞
Casino Max
400% up to
∞
+ 20 Spins
EmuCasino
100% up to
∞
Slots And Casino
500% up to
∞
+ 150 Spins
Red Dog Casino
Slots Empire
230% up to
$7,500
Slotsroom Casino
400% up to
∞
+ 20 Spins
JacksPay
200% up to
$2,000
PokerStars Casino
888 Casino
100% up to
€200
Villento Casino
100% up to
$/€150
Luxury Casino
100% up to
$/€150
CasinoExtra
Jackpot Capital
25% up to
∞
Spinfinity Casino
400% up to
∞
+ 20 Spins
BlackJack Ballroom
100% up to
$/€150
North Casino
100% up to
$/€100
Ripper Casino
25% up to
∞
Las Atlantis Casino
$ 2,500
SlotsPalace Casino
50% up to
$/€200
+ 50 Spins
Scatters Casino
100 Spins
.jpg?x15984)
Eddy Vegas Casino
30% up to
∞
Slotastic
250% up to
∞
William Hill Casino
Ozwin Casino
$ 10
Cherry Jackpot
400% up to
∞
+ 20 Spins
TrueFortune
200% up to
€2,000
Grande Vegas
150% up to
$300
Roaring 21 Casino
400% up to
∞
+ 20 Spins
Playzee Casino
100% up to
$/€300
+ 100 Spins
21 Casino
21 Spins
LadyLuck Casino
100 Spins
PlayOJO Casino
50 Spins
La Riviera Casino
5% up to
∞
Grand Mondial
DBbet Casino
100% up to
€100
777 Casino
100% up to
$/€20
Cadoola Casino
120% up to
$/€100
+ 150 Spins
MELBET Casino
100% up to
€350
+ 50 Spins
Dafabet Casino
100% up to
$140
Nomini Casino
100% up to
€500
+ 200 Spins
Slot Planet
100% up to
€222
+ 22 Spins
Wazamba
50% up to
∞
+ 200 Spins
Slottica Casino
200% up to
∞
Bet365 Casino
Jazz Casino
10% up to
$250
CasinoClic
200% up to
€100
Betmaster Casino
Betfair Casino
Related country guides
- Samoa gambling guide
- Tonga gambling guide
- Fiji gambling guide
- New Zealand gambling guide
- Vanuatu gambling guide
Sources and further reading
- Conseil d’État, Avis sur la répartition des compétences entre l’État et la Polynésie en matière de jeux d’argent et de hasard (2025).
- Conseil d’État, Section de l’intérieur, Avis n° 409474 du 20 mai 2025 (full text) (2025).
- French Republic (text reproduced by FAO FAOLEX), Loi organique n° 2004-192 du 27 février 2004 portant statut d’autonomie de la Polynésie française (2004).
- Assembly of French Polynesia (Bruant, V. and Merceron, A.), Rapporteurs’ report on the draft loi du pays approving the convention on the organisation and operation of games of chance in French Polynesia (2016).
- National Assembly of France, Amendement n° 982, projet de loi relatif à la croissance et la transformation des entreprises (2019).
- Direction des impôts et des contributions publiques (DICP), S’installer en Polynésie française (accessed 13 October 2026).
- Direction de la santé de la Polynésie française, Centre de prévention et de soin des addictions (accessed 13 October 2026).
- Viatge, J.-P. (Tahiti Infos), Jeux d’argent : une histoire de gros sous en Polynésie (2013).
- Tahiti Infos, Le casino du Tahiti Mahana Beach sera interdit aux résidents de Polynésie (2014).
- Tahiti Infos, « Il faut arrêter cette hypocrisie ! » lance Flosse aux anti-casinos (2014).
- TNTV News, Un casino à Tahiti : une opportunité risquée (2016).
- Catholic Church in Papeete (Auméran, J.), Communiqué du 8 juillet 2013 : l’Église dit non aux casinos (2013).
- RNZ Pacific, Report on the casino debate in French Polynesia (2012).
- AFP via Tahiti Infos, Le gouvernement envisage d’autoriser les casinos en ligne (2024).
